Category Archives: Movies

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

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The Sound of MusicMy wife and I celebrated our seventeenth anniversary two nights ago by attending the Spokane Civic Theater’s performance of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. The show was fantastic–elaborate sets, wonderful singing–a real treat. There were even a couple of songs that we had never heard before. It was also very special to see one of my former students in the role of Louisa Von Trapp.

My wife loves The Sound of Music, so one Christmas I bought her the movie, the soundtrack and the original book. Now I see that there’s a cd of music by the Original Trapp Family Singers available, as well as a book about the making of The Sound of Music. The Sound of Music is great family entertainment, and for Catholic families there’s the added bonus of being able to use the movie to talk about our faith.

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The 15 Greatest Movies with Novels as Source Material

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Not only are these great movies, but the novels on which they are based are classics, too. If you’re in a reading group, why not read the book, then watch the movie? I only chose novels, no non-fiction (i.e., A Beautiful Mind) or drama (i.e., Much Ado About Nothing). Movies are listed alphabetically.

  1. Ben-Hur – Novel by Lew Wallace
  2. The Bridge on the River Kwai – Novel by Pierre Boulle
  3. Field of Dreams – Based on Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella
  4. The Godfather – Novel by Mario Puzo
  5. Gone with the Wind – Novel by Margaret Mitchell
  6. The Grapes of Wrath – Novel by John Steinbeck
  7. The Lord of the Rings – Novel by J.R.R. Tolkien
  8. The Maltese Falcon – Novel by Dashiell Hammet
  9. Master and Commander – Novel by Patrick O’Brian
  10. The Natural – Novel by Bernard Malamud
  11. A Room with a View – Novel by E.M. Forster
  12. The Searchers – Novel by Alan Lemay
  13. Shane – Novel by Jack Schaefer
  14. To Kill a Mockingbird – Novel by Harper Lee
  15. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Novel by Arthur C. Clarke

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The Best Old Movies for Families

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The Best Old Movies for FamiliesI was browsing through Borders Books the other day and came across a new book called The Best Old Movies for Families: A Guide to Watching Together by Ty Burr. Old movies are an interest of mine, and I have struggled with trying to get my kids to watch them, so I picked this book up hoping to get some help.

Burr, the film critic for The Boston Globe, does a great job listing movies from the golden age of cinema that kids of different ages will appreciate. He also has a good approach to introducing children to these movies. He suggests starting with comedies, and I agree with him. In fact, the day I bought the book I came home and put in Charlie Chaplin’s The Gold Rush without telling the kids or inviting them to watch. Like a moth to flame, all four of our kids eventually drifted into the TV room to see what was on, and they all ended up watching most of it.

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My Favorite Romantic Movie

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Much Ado About NothingMy favorite romantic movie combines great literature with great cinema: it’s Kenneth Branagh’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. My wife and I love watching this movie together, but the first time we watched it on DVD we got a bit of a surprise we weren’t counting on. We had watched it several times on a videotape I had recorded from PBS, so when it came out on DVD I was looking forward to watching it in its original widescreen format so we could see every bit of what was filmed. What we didn’t realize was that the opening credits had been edited for public TV because of an extended bath scene showing the men and ladies of Messina au natural. So, in fact, we did get to see “every bit” of the film.

Much Ado About Nothing is funny and romantic with a terrific cast, especially Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson. One of the highlights for me, though, is Michael Keaton as Dogberry. Don’t miss this great movie.